Understanding
English Grammar
An Introduction
to Diagramming Sentences
Works Cited
 Funk,
Robert & Martha Kolln.
Understanding English Grammar. 5th Ed.
Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998.
Underlying Structure
Ten sentence patterns
account for the
underlying structure
of almost all possible
grammatical
sentences in English.
 All sentences have a
subject and a
predicate.

Sentence
Subject
Predicate
Subject Predicate
Test: To figure out where the subject ends and
the predicate begins, substitute a pronoun for
the subject.
Example: The council has passed the ordinance
It has passed the ordinance.
 This subject-predicate relationship underlies
every sentence, even those is which the subject is
unstated but clearly understood:
Example: (you) Help! (you) Sit down!

New Terminology
The two basic
constituents of every
sentence are (1) the NP,
or noun phrase, which is
the same as the subject
and (2) the VP, or verb
phrase, which is the
same as the predicate.
Sentence
NP
VP
Sentence
I (NP)
am upstairs (VP)
Additional Terminology
Phrase—any group of two or more words that
function as a unit within a sentence. Always
includes a head, or headword, along with its
modifiers and/or complements. (The head of a
noun phrase is a noun, the head of a verb phrase,
a verb).
 Clause—also a group of words, but it must have
a subject and predicate. There is a difference
between a sentence and a clause. Not all clauses
are sentences and often a single sentence will
include more than one clause.

The Sentence Slots
Because the variations among the
sentence patterns are in the predicates,
we group the ten patterns according to
their verb types:
1. the be patterns
2. the linking verb patterns
3. the intransitive verb pattern
4. the transitive verb patterns
About the patterns…



The number of slots in the predicate varies: Most
patterns have two, but Pattern VI has only one slot, and
three of the transitive patterns, VIII to X, each have
three.
The label in parentheses names the function, the role,
that the slot performs in the sentence.
The subscript numbers you see in some of the patterns
show the relationship between noun phrases: Identical
numbers mean that the two noun phrases have the same
referent; different numbers denote different referents.
(A referent is the thing (or person, event, concept, and so
on ) that the noun or noun phrase stands for).
The be Patterns
I
NP
(subject)
II
III
be
ADV/TP
(predicating verb) (Adverbial of time or place)
The students
are
upstairs
NP
be
ADJ
(subj)
(pred vb)
(subj complement)
The students
are
diligent
NP1
be
NP1
(subj)
(pred vb)
(subj comp)
The students
are
scholars
The be Patterns Explained
The first three formulas state that when a form
of be serves as the predicating verb, an adverbial
of time or place (Pattern I), or an adjectival
(Pattern II), or a noun phrase (Pattern III) will
follow it.
 The one exception to this rule is a statement
simply affirming existence, such as “I am.”
 Other one-word forms of be are: am, is, are,
was, were, being, and been; the expanded forms
include: have been, was being, might be, and
will be.

Pattern I: NP be ADV/TP




The ADV in the formula stands for adverbial, a
modifier of the verb.
The ADV that follows be is, with certain exceptions,
limited to when and where information.
This slot is labeled as adverbial rather than simply as
adverb because the adverbial information is often
expressed by a structure other than a simple adverb.
Adverb is the name of a word class; adverbial names the
function that adverbs carry out.
One of the most common adverbial structures is the
prepositional phrase, a two-part structure consisting
of a preposition—a word such as in, out, up, down,
under, between, for, from—and its object, most
commonly a noun or noun phrase.
Pattern II: NP be ADJ



In this pattern the complement that follows be is an adjectival. This slot is
the subject complement, which both completes the verb and modifies or
describes the subject.
Test: If you’re not sure what an adjective is, answer this question:
The________NOUN is very________. Only an adjective will fit.
Example: The diligent student is very diligent.
Besides adjectives, we sometimes find prepositional phrases filling the
subject complement slot in Pattern II sentences. These are set phrases, or
idiomatic expressions, that name an attribute of the subject:
You are out of your mind.
She is in a bad mood.
To figure out that such sentences do not belong to Pattern I, you can usually
think of an adjective, a single descriptive word, that could substitute for the
phrase:
You are crazy.
She is cranky.
You can also rule out Pattern I because such phrases do not supply
information of time or place.
Pattern III: NP1 be NP1
 The
NP, of course, fills the subject slot in
all of the patterns; in Pattern III a noun
phrase following be fills the subject
complement slot as well.
 The subject complement renames the
subject; be, the main verb, acts as an equal
sign, connecting the subject with its
complement.
The Sentence Patterns: Be Verbs
I NP be ADV/TP
II NP be ADJ
III NP1 be NP1
Linking Verb Patterns
IV
V
NP
Linking verb
ADJ
(subj)
(pred vb)
(subj comp)
The students
seem
diligent.
NP1
Lnk verb
NP1
(subj)
(pred vb)
(subj comp)
The students
became
scholars.
The Linking Verb Patterns
 Linking
verb applies to all verbs other
than be complemented by a subject
complement—an adjectival or a noun
phrase that describes, characterizes, or
identifies the subject.
Pattern IV: NP V-lnk ADJ
In these sentences an adjectival fills the subject
complement slot.
 The adjectival describes or names an attribute of
the subject, just as in Pattern II.
 Pattern IV is a common category for verbs of the
senses (taste, smell, feel, sound, & look).
 Just as in Pattern II, an adjectival prepositional
phrase (an idiom) can fill the subject
complement slot.

Pattern V: NP1 V-lnk NP1
 In
this pattern a noun phrase fills the
subject complement slot following the
linking verb.
 Just as in Pattern III, both NPs have the
same referent.
 Become and remain are among the most
common verbs of Pattern V.
The Optional Slots
Adverbials can appear in every sentence pattern.
 Many of our sentences include information
beyond the basic requirements—words or
phrases that answer such questions as where,
when, why, how, how often, and the like.
 Pattern I has the required ADV/TP, but it can
also include optional adverbials.
 No matter where they occur, all adverbials are
diagrammed as modifiers of the verb.
 Adverbs can be modified with words like very,
known as qualifiers.

The Sentence Patterns: Linking Verbs
IV NP V-lnk ADJ
V NP1 V-lnk NP1
Pattern VI: NP V-int
 An
intransitive verb has no
complement—no noun phrase or
adjectival—following.
 Most Pattern VI sentences have other
information, often adverbials.
 Pattern VI looks a lot like Pattern I, but in
Pattern I, the adverbial information is not
optional.
Exceptions to Pattern VI
 There
are thousands of intransitive verbs.
Among them are a few verbs that require
an adverbial to make them complete:
 Reside: My best friend resides in Roswell.
 Sneak: The boys sneaked past the guard.
 Glance: She glanced at her watch.
 These are not given a new pattern since
the number is so small.
Intransitive Phrasal Verbs
A phrasal verb consists of a verb combined
with a preposition-like word, known as a
particle; together they form an idiom.
 An idiom is a set expression that acts as a unit
(i.e. made up).
 Test: adverbs can be shifted without a change in
meaning, whereas a particle cannot (i.e. up we
jumped vs. up we made)
 Test: replace the phrasal with a one word
synonym (i.e. gave in=capitulated, broke
up=ended).

The Sentence Patterns: Intransitive Verbs
VI NP V-int
Pattern VII: NP1 V-tr NP2
The one method of distinguishing transitive
verbs that works almost every time is the
recognition that the two noun phrases have
different referents.
 An exception occurs when the direct object is
either a reflexive pronoun (John cut himself) or
a reciprocal pronoun (John and Mary love each
other).
 Don’t forget about transitive phrasal verbs
Ex. He came by his fortune in an unusual way.

Pattern VIII: NP1 V-tr NP2 NP3
All three NPs have different referents.
 You have the option of shifting the indirect
object to a position following the direct object,
where it will be the object of a preposition.
Ex. The students gave their professor their
homework OR The students gave their
homework to the professor.
 The same system of identity applies in Pattern
VIII when reflexive or reciprocal pronouns fill
the indirect object slot, as they sometimes do.
Ex. Jill gave herself a haircut OR We gave each
other identical Christmas presents.

Pattern IX: NP1 V-Tr NP2 ADJ
 In
this pattern the direct object is followed
by a second complement, as adjective that
modifies or describes the direct object;
this is the object complement.
 Pattern IX is a small class, with relatively
few verbs, most of which appear equally
often in Pattern VII, where they take the
direct object only.
Pattern X: NP1 V-tr NP2 NP2
 TEST:
To discern between patterns IX and
X, check whether you can insert the words
to be between the direct object and the
following slot.
Ex.
Taro finds his job easy. (X)
Taro found his job easily. (IX)
Pam found her job the hard way. (IX)
Pam finds her job a challenge. (X)
Pattern X: NP1 V-tr NP2 NP2
continued…
 Sometimes
the object complement is
signaled by as, which we call an expletive,
or operator.
Ex. We elected Tom as our secretary.
We refer to him as “Mr. Secretary.”
I know him as a good friend.
The Sentence Patterns: Transitive Verbs
VII NP1 V-tr NP2
VIII NP1 V-tr NP2 NP3
IX NP1 V-tr NP2 ADJ
X NP1 V-tr NP2 NP2